Jayapura, Jubi – Despite the overcast skies following a rainy night, the poignant ceremony bidding farewell to Lukas Enembe, the former Governor of Papua from 2013 to 2023, unfolded solemnly at his residence in Koya Tengah, Muara Tami District, Jayapura City on Friday, December 29, 2023. Enembe’s final resting place was near the Evangelical Church of Indonesia, Dea Pasifik Congregation.
From 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Papua time, the heartfelt ceremony, led by GIDI President Rev. Dorman Wandikbo, saw Enembe’s casket placed in the center of a field, surrounded by grieving family members. The yard was filled with mourners, some standing outside the long tents due to the overwhelming crowd.
After the service, family, religious figures, legal representatives, and organization members shared their cherished memories of Enembe. Pater John Djonga, a prominent Catholic leader in the Koya region, remembered Enembe as a courageous advocate for his people’s rights, emphasizing Enembe’s call for unity in pursuing justice for Papua’s people.
Pater John interpreted the cloudy weather as a sign of both the people of Papua and the natural environment mourning Enembe’s passing on December 26, 2023. Enembe’s legacy lives on through his wife, Yulce Wenda Enembe, and their three children—Astrac Bona Enembe, Eldorado Gamael Enembe, and Dario Alvin Nells Isak Enembe.
Yulce Wenda expressed deep gratitude for their shared life and sought forgiveness for any mistakes before her husband’s casket was taken to the burial site.
“Thank you for being with us on this journey, guiding our family and our children. If we erred, forgive us. Farewell peacefully. You are now with the Lord,” she said
The procession to Enembe’s burial site, about a kilometer from his residence, was a solemn march. Mourners gradually departed from the residence around 4 p.m. (*)
